Germany Gorge
Massendorfer Schlucht
102 m of rock, cut by the Fränkische Rezat.
Derzno · CC BY 3.0
The cut
102 metres, to scale.
A slice through Massendorfer Schlucht where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: a two-storey house · 9.0 m · Statue of Liberty · 93 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
102m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
3.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
17°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
0.3km
Length
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 25 °C. The best months to hike are from May to June and in September. The rim freezes at night from December to February. The wettest months are in May and from July to August.
- 2°2°Jan
- 4°3°Feb
- 9°8°Mar
- 15°14°Apr
- 19°18°May
- 23°22°Jun
- 25°24°Jul
- 24°24°Aug
- 20°19°Sep
- 14°14°Oct
- 8°7°Nov
- 3°2°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Gorge in Germany
Massendorfer Schlucht is a gorge in Germany, cut by the Fränkische Rezat river. The relief model measures 102 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 137 m to the higher one. It runs for 0.3 km. Rim to rim it is 3.0 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Spaltnearest town · 1.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 540 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Bühlnearest viewpoint · 3.6 km from the floor
- Nuremberg Airport (NUE)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 36 km in a straight lineCar hire at NUE airport (Nuremberg)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From May to June and in Septemberbest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The river
The Fränkische Rezat runs highest from January to August.
The Fränkische Rezat carries about 3.0 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to August.
- 5.0 m³/sJan
- 3.9 m³/sFeb
- 6.6 m³/sMar
- 4.3 m³/sApr
- 7.2 m³/sMay
- 4.4 m³/sJun
- 4.5 m³/sJul
- 4.2 m³/sAug
- 1.7 m³/sSep
- 1.4 m³/sOct
- 1.6 m³/sNov
- 1.1 m³/sDec
From about 1.1 m³/s in the lowest month to 7.2 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 436 km².
Follow the Main from source to mouth on Riveryas
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
1.6 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.5 × 6.5 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 9viewpoints within 5 kmBühl, Burg Wernfels/Abenberg, Spalt-Blick and 6 more
- 48marked hiking routes within 4 kmPlanetenweg Georgensgmünd, Main-Donau-Weg (Rangau-Linie) Teil_2, Dr.-Fritz-Linnert-Weg and 45 more
- 18footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1caves within 3 km
- 26car parks within 3 km
- 10information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 25bus stops within 2 km
- 12campsites within 8 kmWohnmobilübernachtungsplätze an der Fränkischen Rezat, Wohnmobilstellplatz Abenberg, See Camping Langlau and 9 more
- 54hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmCVJM Burg Wernfels, FeWo Ritzer, FeWo Riedl "Urlaub beim Krammer" and 51 more
- 23restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Spalt1.5 km in a straight line
- Georgensgmünd6.1 km in a straight line
- Absberg6.1 km in a straight line
- Abenberg6.6 km in a straight line
- Röttenbach8.5 km in a straight line
- Pleinfeld9.9 km in a straight line
- Mitteleschenbach10 km in a straight line
- Windsbach10 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Massendorfer Schlucht.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Riveryas10 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas57 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas3 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 19 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 3 |
| Afternoon · rim | 2 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 14 | 7 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -4 | -4 | -1 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 0 | -3 |
| Rain (mm) | 59 | 43 | 49 | 44 | 85 | 74 | 87 | 81 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 60 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.4 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 5.4 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 15 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 15 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | 2 | -4 | 59 | 1.4 |
| Feb | 4 | 3 | -4 | 43 | 3.1 |
| Mar | 9 | 8 | -1 | 49 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 15 | 14 | 3 | 44 | 6.5 |
| May | 19 | 18 | 8 | 85 | 6.7 |
| Jun | 23 | 22 | 12 | 74 | 7.5 |
| Jul | 25 | 24 | 13 | 87 | 7.5 |
| Aug | 24 | 24 | 13 | 81 | 6.6 |
| Sep | 20 | 19 | 8 | 56 | 5.4 |
| Oct | 14 | 14 | 4 | 56 | 3.4 |
| Nov | 8 | 7 | 0 | 56 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 3 | 2 | -3 | 60 | 1.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (352 m) and the rim (489 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 49% | 275% | 96% | 43% | 63% | 159% | 50% | 139% | 104% | 108% | 32% | 118% |
| 2021 | 117% | 129% | 73% | 57% | 135% | 184% | 171% | 153% | 54% | 60% | 70% | 135% |
| 2022 | 81% | 101% | 31% | 183% | 52% | 76% | 39% | 101% | 174% | 107% | 99% | 89% |
| 2023 | 56% | 84% | 153% | 152% | 58% | 64% | 99% | 180% | 41% | 101% | 230% | 148% |
| 2024 | 99% | 140% | 81% | 133% | 187% | 179% | 87% | 91% | 237% | 103% | 89% | 73% |
| 2025 | 114% | 83% | 66% | 64% | 47% | 91% | 109% | 67% | 239% | 100% | 94% | 32% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Massendorfer Schlucht
Germany
- 102 mDepth
- 3.0 kmRim to rim
- 0.3 kmLength
- 17°Steepest wall
Wolfsschlucht nördlich von Wallersberg
Germany · 31 km
- 86 mDepth
- 1.3 kmRim to rim
- 0.2 kmLength
- 14°Steepest wall
Teufelskirche von Grünsberg
Germany · 32 km
- 88 mDepth
- 870 mRim to rim
- 0.3 kmLength
- 16°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q15119896) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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